IPL 2023 RR vs PBKS Preview - Snakes and runs expected in Assam

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Assam Cricket Association Stadium

Average first innings score: n/a
Average first innings winning score: n/a
Average powerplay score: n/a
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd:n/a

Team form RR vs PBKS

RR: W
PBKS: W

Recent meetings: IPL 2022 - RR won by 6 wickets

Preview RR vs PBKS

It would be fair to say that Rajasthan's win against Sunrisers was comprehensive! A brilliant start to the powerplay which with 2 balls to spare looked like it might rank as one of the highest powerplay scores in IPL history put the Royals out in front and they never looked back.

The top 3 all looked in absolutely sublime form and the only criticism that you could have of Buttler, Jaiswal and Samson is that they weren't able to go on and bat through the innings for the kind of really big scores that the Royals were delivering last season.

With ball in hand things went equally well with Trent Boult delivering a double wicket maiden courtesy of a brilliant slip catch by Jason Holder, before last season's purple cap winner Chahal, showed that he'll be back up there again this year by claiming 4 wickets.

If you wanted to nit pick, then you could argue that the Royals got little to no contribution from the likes of Padikkal or Pirag who they carried a bit last season while once again their 5th bowling option didn't deliver. Those weaknesses were a long way from being exposed in their opening game but tougher challenges await.

Punjab Kings couldn't have asked for much more in their opening game either. Unlike the Royals, PBKS are still waiting on a couple of star players to arrive so any points that the team can take without Rabada and Livingstone in the XI are going to be great for team morale!

PBKS looked reckless at times last season and they were certainly aggressive again in their opening win against KKR but with significantly more control. Prabhsimran Singh got them off to a flier, allowing Dhawan to play the kind of anchor role that he relishes. The skipper will be a little disappointed that he didn't kick on but his 86 run partnership with the burley Rajapaksa laid a foundation that allowed Punjab to push up to a winning score.

With ball in hand, they'll be absolutely delighted that Arshdeep Singh was amongst the wickets early on. He is a very good T20 bowler, capable of operating at both ends of the innings but often went unrewarded in last year's tournament. He looked pumped after taking those 3 wickets and if Rabada can come in and hit the ground running then PBKS have the makings of a dangerous attack.

This will be the first ever IPL match played at the Assam Stadium but if the recent white ball internationals that have been played here are anything to go by then it should be a pitch that favours the batsmen and snakes!

India scored 237 in a T20 game here against South Africa in October with RSA coming very close to chasing that total down thanks to a magnificent 46 ball hundred from David Miller. That game was interrupted twice, once by a floodlight failure but also by the appearance of a snake on the pitch!

During interview, the snake later claimed that the pitch was so flat, even he thought he could get some runs on it!

More recently, India also racked up 373 here in an ODI against Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankans also passing 300 in response.

RR vs PBKS head to head

PBKS bowling vs RR batting

PBKS will be keen to exploit any weaknesses against left-arm swing bowling during the play with Arshdeep and Curran their main weapons up front. Jaiswal looked in really good touch for the Royals, timing the ball nicely and generally playing quality cricket shots rather than looking to slog the ball. However, his record against left-armers isn't great!

Jaiswal T20 record vs left-arm fast medium bowling

With the ODI series against the Netherlands having concluded, it's not entirely impossible that Kagiso Rabada will return for the Kings in this match and renew his rivalry with Jos Buttler. To date it's one that the Englishman is winning fairly comfortably although Rabada did dismiss him in the most recent IPL meeting between the 2.

Rabada vs Buttler T20 head to head

One thing that has become evident when watching Buttler bat over the last couple of years is that he will target specific overs and specific bowlers to try and go big. That was very much the case when the Royals played the Kings last season with Buttler taking Rabada for 20 runs off the 4th over before going for one shot too many and being dismissed off the final ball. Since then, Buttler has gone head to head with Rabada on 3 more occassions in the powerplay and been far more reserved, scoring 16 runs from 14 deliveries. Will he fancy another go at Rabada in this match?

Buttler vs Rabada from IPL 2022

RR bowling v PBKS batting

The challenge for any side playing the Royals this season will be to survive Boult with the new ball and then combat Chahal and Ashwin in the middle overs. Of course, it becomes significantly easier to play the spinners, if your top order has gotten you off to a good start and you can't help but feel that Shikhar Dhawan's wicket is going to be absolutely crucial in this game.

Boult vs Dhawan T20 head to head

With Dhawan averaging 50+ against Trent Boult, then Rajasthan may be tempted to give Ravi Aswhin a go early against the Kings skipper as they did the last time these 2 sides met and to good effect with Ashwin claiming the prize scalp in the last over of the powerplay.

Ashwin vs Dhawan previous IPL dismissals

Liam Livingstone is waiting to be given the all clear by the ECB having missed the first match. The player has posted videos of himself in the nets suggesting that he may be available for this game.

Too often last season, PBKS left themselves in a position in which they were unable to go hard in the final overs of an innings but against this Rajasthan bowling line-up they might be wise to preserve a couple of wickets and attack an apparent weakness in their death bowling options. Even though game was over as a contest against SRH, Rajasthan still managed to concede 35 runs from the final 9 balls of the innings! PBKS have the batsmen to further test RR in that phase of the game, if they can lay an adequate platform.

---

All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL head to head player stats
IPL player stats by venue
IPL stadium statistics.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images which are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free